Old fire station Goulburn

Last Saturday, as part of our ongoing quest to prove that we have a life we went to Goulburn to see the Archibald prize finalists.

The last time we did this was 2010 but the set up was much the same – drive to Goulburn, have lunch, view the protraits at the Goulburn art gallery – really just an exhibition space above the City Library in the council offices, and come home.

It was supposed to be one of these days at the end of winter full oc wind and screaming sleet that mocks the double glazing, but it was instead a nice, clear sunny day, blustery but nice.

The portraits themselves were the usual mixture of photo realistic portraits – a style that I personally dislike, and some quite innovative portaits. I especially liked the eyes in Naomi Watt’s picture of Abby McCulloch and Allan Jones’s use of texture in Corro. Pictures which say something about the sitter rather than just represent them.

Alexander Mackenzie’s portrait of Toni Collette is quietly surreal – the use of the liferaft to frame the subject giving it the air of some demented version of a late medieval Italian Madonna picture.

As always, worth a visit if you have time. Incidentally we happened across Goulburn’s free wifi more or less by accident – I stopped to check my phone while taking a picture and noticed that there was an open network available – again another local initiative that should be applauded

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